"I'm here to tell you how excited I am about this opportunity with the Orioles," Duquette said Tuesday morning, when the team announced his arrival. "I'm here to build a contending team that everyone in Baltimore can be proud of."

The Orioles have named Duquette as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. Duquette is a veteran of over two decades in baseball operations at the Major League level, including 10 of those seasons as general manager with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox.

"I am pleased to welcome Dan Duquette to the Orioles organization," said Orioles Majority Owner Peter Angelos. "With an emphasis on developing players from within as well as acquiring players through the international and trade markets, Dan built the Red Sox and Expos into formidable franchises during his tenures. His record of success, extensive baseball operations leadership and strong scouting background give Dan the experience and skills essential for this position."

"During our meetings last week it was obvious to me that Mr. Angelos and I share a passion for organization, efficiency and a commitment to build a competitive team in the American League East, which I know from experience is baseball's most competitive division," Duquette said. "I'm going to do everything in my power to help this club succeed."

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"My affinity with the Orioles started a long time ago back in the back yard when my brother Dennis and I would play whiffle ball at, frankly, what we called Lilac Stadium because the lilac hedges would go down the third base line and over to left field, and we would be the Red Sox of '67 and the Orioles of 1966 and we would emulate the great sluggers from those teams. He was Mark Belanger and I was Brooks Robinson and, believe it or not, our childhood friend who would play third base was named Boog Powell. So, it goes back a long time."

- Dan Duquette

Duquette said he has already identified key areas to address firsthand.

"The organization has a couple of specific needs. One is a scouting director, which I'm going to start work on right away. I think that's an important position that we need to fill. We also need a minor league pitching coordinator and I've started a list of candidates in my search on that level, too. Those will be two key hires that you may not see the impact of right away, but we've already started working on that," Duquette said.

"You have a core group of players here to build around along with the strength of the management team and I believe we'll be able to find some players to fill in, in terms of gaining depth to the pitching staff and gaining depth to the overall lineup. But I think the foundation is there. How long is it going to take? It depends on how quickly we can sign the players we need. I think you have the establishment of a core group of players here that are at a good age that the fans can identify with and we can certainly build around," Duquette said.

Duquette's eight seasons as general manager of the Red Sox from 1994 through 2001 included three playoff teams (1995, 1998 and 1999), and his acquisitions helped lay the groundwork for the club's first World Series championship in 86 years in 2004. The club made the playoffs in back-to-back years in 1998 and 1999, the first time in 80 seasons the franchise had accomplished the feat. Seven key contributors -- Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, Tim Wakefield and Johnny Damon -- on the 2004 team were acquired during Duquette's tenure. Under his leadership, Boston compiled a .544 winning percentage (695-582).

Duquette Ties International Market To Building Farm Team

"When you don't have the resources that the top two clubs have, you have to work harder and you have to work smarter, and you have to do a better job in scouting and you have to do a better job in player development. If you can build up the players in your farm system, and you've got core players coming in to your Major League team, then you've got something to talk about. The team that has the best farm system is the team that competes year in and year out. Irrespective of your market size, it all starts with signing good players and bringing them up to your team," Duquette said. "The best players are going to have to come up through our farm system."

Dan Duquette: Leverage Int'l Players To Build Farm System

Duquette showed a commitment to expanding Boston's reach in the international market, finishing the 2001 season with 12 of the players on the club's 40-man roster born outside the United States. At Boston's 2002 spring training camp, players from 10 different countries were represented.

"A lot of the pitching that we signed and developed on the international market was to trade for established Major League players. So, keep in mind that there are two ways you can use that farm system: You can bring up core players for your major league team, or you can use the other players to trade for top performers for your Major League team. We used some of the inventory in Boston to trade for some of the great pitchers, for Pedro Martinez," Duquette said.

The Red Sox Minor League system was shaped into a feeder system for the major league club under Duquette's watch, with homegrown players including Nomar Garciaparra, Shea Hillenbrand, Casey Fossum and Trot Nixon making contributions to the team. Future Major League players Kevin Youkilis, David Eckstein, Hanley Ramirez and Freddy Sanchez were also drafted or signed during Duquette's tenure. The talent in the Red Sox Minor League system also enabled Duquette to trade for Pedro Martinez, and for Boston to later acquire Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett.

"It doesn't matter to me where they end up. The important thing is to sign a number of good ones at the amateur level and have a functional Minor League where you can get them up to the Major League level," Duquette said. "If somebody thinks those young pitchers are more valuable to them before they're ready for us well then we would make that deal."

Can Duquette Turn Orioles Around?

Red Sox Minor League affiliates finished with an overall record over .500 in five of Duquette's last six seasons with the organization.

"This challenge is the kind of challenge that I look for and that I successfully met in the two places that I've been in Montreal and Boston. I took over teams that were below .500, and I wouldn't be here standing before you today if I didn't believe that I could have an impact on this franchise to get it to be competitive and then to get it to the championship level. I'm a builder. Every place you go has its own distinct challenges, it doesn't matter which market you're in," Duquette said.

Dan Duquette: 'I'm A Builder'

Duquette began his career in baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981, working in the scouting department under former Orioles general manager Harry Dalton. He spent a total of seven years in scouting and player development with the Brewers from 1981 through 1987, the last two as scouting coordinator.

"My affinity with the Orioles started a long time ago back in the back yard when my brother Dennis and I would play whiffle ball at, frankly, what we called Lilac Stadium because the lilac hedges would go down the third base line and over to left field, and we would be the Red Sox of '67 and the Orioles of 1966 and we would emulate the great sluggers from those teams. He was Mark Belanger and I was Brooks Robinson and, believe it or not, our childhood friend who would play third base was named Boog Powell. So, it goes back a long time," Duquette said.

"I learned everything I know about pitching from the Oriole way. The value of pitching to a Major League team, I couldn't overstate that to you today," Duquette said. "If we're going to talk about where we're going to start to build a contending team, it's going to start right there on the mound. Those principles that I learned from Dalton: Aggressive scouting will building you a wining ballclub. Aggressive international scouting, I believe, will build you a championship ballclub. You weave that in with a sound player development operation."

In 2003, Duquette founded and built the Dan Duquette Sports Academy, a Massachusetts-based baseball, softball and soccer camp and tournament facility for youth. In 2004, he purchased the Pittsfield Dukes of the New England Collegiate Baseball League and in 2007 Duquette was a founding member and director of player development of the Israel Baseball League.

A native of Dalton, Mass., Duquette, 53, earned a degree in English from Amherst College and played on the school's baseball and football teams.

"I?m glad that I?m here. My experience with big and smaller market clubs, I think, is what distinguished me from the other candidates," Duquette said.